The Real Communion…

It’s that time of the year when folks partake of a communion service. I think they feel sometimes that there’s a little magic in the bread and wine. As if there is a special property associated with the symbolism. Some folks do communion every Sunday, good for remembrance and not so good when practiced as part of the ritual. One group demands that the people participating in communion be worthy in order to partake. Imagine needing some form of human worthiness to qualify for Christ’s worthiness; the worthiness that paid the price for all sin for all time. Imagine… But, lest I drift too far astray, communion was designed as a reminder that the Lord died for our sins, was beaten and tortured for our healing and that by his stripes (whips) we were healed. Nothing magical, nothing mystical, no ritual required. How much God must find ritual distasteful. The motions, the actions like actors in a play. Is that really what communion represents? The remembrance is lovely and the purpose divine. But, is that all communion is really about? The healing that you seek is already there for you. Whatever healing you seek, it is already there for you. You don’t need a magic ritual. You need to understand what communion really means. The real communion!

The word communion comes from a Greek word that means full sharing. It is about intimacy and deep trust. It is sharing something with someone or something at a very deep level. It’s the type of relationship where nothing is held back because nothing needs to be held back. It is honest and pure like from the heart of a child. It is love being experienced from the source. You see, we seek healing from an unknown God hoping He will have mercy on us and throw down a blessing. We followed all the rules. We kept the commandments, at least the ones we knew about. We attended church and did the rituals or the requirements or the protocol. We got in line and stayed in line, careful not to offend our brother. But, we missed something along the way. We missed the relationship. We didn’t take the time to move from our formal prayers to real conversations. We kept beseeching this God we did not know nor understand. We hoped He was kind, but heard tales where He wasn’t. So, we played the game but the healing did not come. We worked so hard, gave up stuff we genuinely enjoyed and put an end to the shenanigans. We conformed, but the healing did not come. We prayed and we prayed, but the healing did not come. The healing did not come because we did not yet properly comprehend who God is; what He can do, nor what He is willing to do. We didn’t know because we really never got to know Him. We never read about His nature being pure, unconditional love and instead we kept adding conditions. We made our healing all about us and not at all about Him. Healing comes from real communion.

I have found, when it comes to healing, that sometimes you have to get some other things in order first. No, not your behaviors! (Back to you. Back to you.) I mean restoration. Chances are you have been thinking some quite untrue and negative things about yourself for a very long time. (Don’t blame me. I don’t like it either.) Chances are you are holding some transactional, merit based relationship with God where He blesses you as long as you do this and stop that! Chances are you have been thoroughly convinced there is no healing for your situation. I mean, all the experts agree, except One. Sometimes God has to do some heart surgery for us before we can begin to receive His goodness. (So let Him operate!) Our believing God to receive from God comes from our hearts. Despite God’s admonition to guard our hearts, if we live long enough, our hearts can get pretty screwed up. Yes, you need that healing for your issue, but more likely you need a deeper healing for your heart. Life and health and vitality are stolen from us. What we need more than anything is to cultivate our relationship with God, as OUR FATHER. He is the life we seek in mind, body and spirit. His love, His kindness, His mercy, His grace is what heals us. He doesn’t heal us because we earned it. He heals us because He loves us, far more than we can imagine. God is willing to heal you today. Seek real communion with Him.

Nothing ever wrong with a communion remembrance, except that horrific act of requiring demonstrated worthiness, seeking to earn what our Lord gave us for free. We all need to be more mindful of what our Lord Jesus Christ went through for us. He not only paid the price for all of our sins, past, present and future (how many folks know this), but he also paid for the healing we all need that came as a result of the sin he freed us from. He even paid for our peace of mind, something we could never manufacture on our own. And why did he do what he did, never sinning for an entire lifetime? He did it because he loved his Father. He did it because he loved you and me. He did it so that you could be set free from the things that oppress you and hurt you. He did it so you could be healed by His Father whom He loved more than any other thing. He had deep intimacy with God. He trusted God. He had a strong relationship with God. He had real communion…

Just some good thoughts…